U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration has freed eight states from core provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB), bringing to 19 the number of states granted waivers this year–and officials say that more states soon would qualify.
Critics of the 2001 law have long said that its universal proficiency requirement for math and English is both too vague and unattainable. In 2010, 38% of U.S. schools failed to meet their benchmarks for annual progress toward the 2014 goal, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan has warned that the figure could increase to 80%. The law has been up for renewal since 2007, but Congress has been unable to agree on a new version.